USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1898-1902 > Part 24
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TOUCHSTONE, The. Wharton, E. 744.19
835.9
TRANSVAAL. Fitzpatrick, J. P. The Transvaal from within
344.25
TREES. Lounsberry, A. A guide to the trees
145.5
TRENT, W. P. Robert E. Lee 548.6
TRICKER, W. The water garden. 141.8
147.3
UNITED Kingdom, The. Smith, G
354.1
UNITED States. Civil service commission. Rpt. 1898-99 Ref.
Commissioner of education. Rpt. 1867-98. Ref.
Geological survey. Monographs, v. 35-39. Ref.
Interstate commerce commission. Rpt. '99.
Ref.
Government. Mowry, W. A. Elements of civil
government 838.2
.
TRAIL of the sandhill stag. Thompson, E. Seaton.
UNDERWOOD, L. M. Our native ferns and their allies
SMITH, M. C. Mary Paget.
167
UNITED States History Abbott, W. J. Blue jackets of '98 .... 834.2
Fiske, J. The Mississippi valley in the civil war .. Foster, J. W. A century of American diplomacy 355.1
345.13
Hart, A. B. Source-book of American history .... Official records of Union and Confederate navies Ser. l. v. 9.
UNLEAVENED bread. Grant, R. .
Ref. 733.1 1424.10
VAN Dyke, H. The toiling of Felix; and other poems
733.3
WAR and peace. Tolstoi, L. N.
733.4
WARD, M. A. Eleanor
744.11
WARD. May Alden. Prophets of the nineteenth century. (Carlyle,
Ruskin, Tolosti ) ..
547.6
WASHINGTON, B. T. The future of the American negro
1336.2
WATER garden, The. Tricker. W. 141.8
WEBSTER, D. Hapgood. N. Daniel Webster.
548.9
WESSELHOEFT, L. F. Madam Mary of the Zoo
835.11
WEYMAN, S J Sophia .
744 15
WHARTON, E. The touchstone
744.19
WHEELER, B. I. Alexander the great .
545.4
WHIPPLE, H. B. Lights and shadows of a long episcopate 542.2
744.4
The love of Parson Lord
737.2
WINSLOW, H. M. Concerning cats.
1334.2
WISE, J. S. The end of an era .
544.6
WITH Lawton and Roberts. Brooks, E. S.
836.5
WITH Preble at Tripoli. Otis, J ..
836.8
WOMAN tenderfoot, A. Thompson, G. G. Seaton
435.25
WRIGHT, M. O. The dream-fox story-book
835.12
YANGTZE valley, The, and beyond. Bishop, I B.
432.9
YOUNG, Rev. E. J. The minister's club, 1870-1899; an historical sketch
Ref.
YOUNG and old Puritans of Hatfield. Smith, M. P. W 836.7
YOUNG citizen, The. Dole, C. F.
818.22
346.12
VOICE, The, of the people. Glasgow, E.
WILKINS, M. E.
The heart's highway
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF LINCOLN,
FOR THE
SCHOOL YEAR 1900.
L
SCHOOL COMMITTEE,
JULIUS E. EVELETH, Chairman, EDWARD R. FARRAR, Secretary,
Term expires 1902
1901
GEORGE F. NEWTON, 66 1903
Superintendent of Schools. W. N. CRAGIN.
Supervisor of Music. ANNIE M. BARNES.
Supervisor of Drawing. MARGARET E. HILL.
TEACHERS :
Centre Grammar. CARRIE B. CHAPIN.
Centre Sub-Grammar. MARY H. ALCOTT.
Centre Primary. NELLIE M. NEWTON.
South Sub-Grammar. CAROLINE B. PENDLETON.
South Primary. HATTIE B. HEATH.
JANITORS.
Centre. GEORGE L. CHAPIN. South. HUGH MCKINNON.
TRUANT OFFICERS :
LORENZO E. BROOKS, HERBURT W. FARRAR.
171
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
To the Citizens of Lincoln :
In submitting a report of the existing conditions govern- ing the public schools of the town, your Committee feel called upon to deal in the main with generalities and to specialize only such matter as pertains to the executive man- agement, entrusting to our supervisors the detailed informa- tion concerning their various departments.
A degree of pride, commensurate with the respectable status of the town might be pardoned, as reference is made to skilled supervision in each important classification of our school work. While a few so-called rural schools are thus favored, many are considering the question of desirability, keeping in view as a factor in the case the matter of expense. Something for nothing, however, is as impossible in the world of economics, as the successful growth of plant life without sunshine or rain. The ostrich with head buried in the sand for safety, is suffering no more of a delusion than the financier who expects a profitable return without the risk of an investment. It is simply a question of judicious expenditure. If the education of our youth is of less import- ance than the hoarding of a few bits of coin, then supervisors, teachers, and schoolhouses, are an extravagance and should be reduced to a minium. If otherwise, we are justified in equipping our schools in the best possible way and discount- ing the requirements of the future.
As years roll on we note the urgent need of a more liberal education. The wondrous increase in the line of industrial pursuits, requiring a technical knowledge, gained only by persistent study, places an almost insurmountable barrier in the path of the boy whose mind lacks a systematic training.
172
The growing difficulty in acquiring a foothold in the business world which is more and more augmented by the increasing number of great corporations demanding only the brain of the finest mental poise ; the requirements of society, which in the coming years will attach a higher and higher value to the importance of education and refinement ; the exclusiveness with which the professional world is being hemmed about, as a sequence to the demands for greater ability and skill in law and medicine ; all these tend to raise the standard of educa- tion, add a brighter luster to the industrious and successful student, and handicap the dullard who is satisfied to remain behind. If we accept this line of argument as resting upon a sure hypothesis, we must be impressed with the vital im- portance attached to the judicious supervision of our schools.
A few of the schoolroom occupants realize in a measure the privilege afforded them and strive to make the most of their opportunities. Such examples, however, are somewhat rare. Too many prefer rather to drift along in a comfortable way with little exertion and no definite purpose in view for the future. Failure to excel causes no especial regret. They have plenty of company travelling in the same direction and halting at the same spots by the wayside. Their own short- comings are excusable on the ground of commonality. They are influenced by the many examples of mediocrity, rather than the few exceptions of high rank, and are left to drift in this listless manner, satisfied to be a failure because of their surroundings. Little progress will be made, and a store of regrets will be garnered up for use in after life.
Wherein lies the responsibility ? Admitting that the school management may be held accountable in a great measure for lack of interest, shiftless methods, and careless- ness of deportment, and that every effort should be made to remedy such defects, there is still another power, the most potent of all, which is too often conspicuous by its absence. We refer to the influence of home life and the watchful care of parents over the habits and deportment of the child. Al-
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though the statutes of our commonwealth require a report, setting forth in some degree the details of school manage_ ment in every city and town, the information gained is not altogether surprising or unexpected. No mother is blind to the degree of interest felt and expressed by her boy in his studies, as that which lies nearest the heart whether in young or old is oftenest given expression. With this knowledge, which is almost intuitive, and a disposition to co-operate with the guardians of the schoolroom, much may be done to raise the standard of scholarship, and impress upon the mind of the child the value of industry and application and their correlative results.
The corps of regular teachers remains the same as during the previous year, and as all are known to the community, either through personal acquaintance or general report, no special mention need be made of individual characteristics. Their certificates of re-election are perhaps the most tangible proof that faithful and efficient endeavor is appreciated. The burden of responsibility of both teachers and committee has been materially lightened by the advent of a competent superintendent. Mr. W. N. Cragin was the unanimous choice of a sub-committee composed of one member from each of the several committees representing the towns of Wilmington, Bedford, Lincoln and Burlington ; the present union formation. The choice of the sub-committee was rat- ified at a meeting of the joint committee of the several towns at a later date.
In our last report it was suggested that the formation of a Superintendency District to include Lincoln would be ex- tremely difficult on account of its geographical situation. At that time Wilmington and Burlington, having withdrawn from a former union, were trying the experiment of school management without skilled supervision and, to all appear- ances, were satisfied with the result. Subsequently an ar- rangement was made with the towns whereby a union was formed. This matter has been commented upon in previous
174
reports and further mention would throw no more light upon the subject. Its importance is best illustrated, perhaps, by the results of recent legislation, undoubtedly through the in- fluence of the men and women who have at heart the welfare of the coming generation. The legislature of 1900 enacted a law making compulsory the employment of superintendents of schools throughout the State after July 1, 1902. We quote below the text of the law :
(CHAPTER 248.)
An Act Relative to the Employment of Super- intendents of Schools by Cities and Towns.
SECTION 1. The school committee of each town or city in the Commonwealth may, and after July first, in the year nineteen hundred and two, shall, employ at the expense of the town or city a superintendent of schools, who, under the direction and control of the com- mittee, shall have the care and supervision of the public schools: provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to dissolve existing unions for the employment of a super- intendent, or to prevent towns from uniting for such employment under the provisions of sections forty-four and forty-five of chapter forty-eight of the Public Statutes, or of sec- tions six and seven of chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight.
SECTION 2. The school committees of towns the valuation of which is less than two million five hundred thousand dollars may, and after July first in the year nineteen hundred and two, shall, form unions under the provisions of chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the acts
175
of the year eighteen hundred and ninety- eight.
SECTION 3 .. All acts and parts of acts in- consistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.
(Approved April 18, 1900.)
This enactment of the legislature settles a question that has for years disturbed the equilibrium of school committees, and divided the opinions of the community at large. It is plainly seen that under this act it becomes as much a part of the duties of the school committee to provide a superintend- ent, as to employ teachers for the schools. Towns are also required to include in their appropriations money enough to cover the superintendent's salary.
Few changes have been made in text-books during the year, as such matters require a careful consideration. A change may be made in any system with reckless haste and little thought of consequences. The question of improve- ment is quite another matter and admits of no erratic or hasty conclusions.
The introduction of the Ward system of reading in the primary grades seems to be a move in the right direction judging from its popularity in towns that have given the method a thorough test. Singing is looked upon as an ac- complishment and much time is given to the cultivation of voice and expression. Special supervisors are employed for the purpose, and commendably so, as the influence of music is conducive to refinement and good morals, and opens the avenues to harmless enjoyment, which otherwise would be closed as by a gate of iron. It is well worth all the atten- tion given it in the public schools.
Is not good reading an accomplishment also? Are there not more good singers than even passable readers? If any branch of the school curriculum is open to criticism that of reading would head a very long list We make no exceptions
176
whether of city or country schools. The same painful stumbling and uncertain expression, as though the subject of the reading was either a matter of no consequence or in no way understood, seems to pervade the atmosphere of all modern schoolrooms. The fault must lie at the root of the prevailing system of instruction and the remedy should first be applied there.
At a recent meeting of your Committee it was practically decided, as a result of the careful examination by the super- intendent, that the Arithmetic now in use in the schools should be discarded, although it may be thought advisable to continue with the present one until the end of the school year. A text-book more simple in its general construction, containing problems so worded and arranged that they may be at least understood by the teacher, would seem a desirable acquisition. The trend of all investigators, who have given the question of mathematical text-books a careful study, is towards simplicity and the elimination of much matter that has formerly puzzled and worried the pupil to no purpose. Unusual and difficult propositions that tend to nowhere, ex- cept the consumption of time and the bewilderment of the immature mind, are considered a waste of energy and should be replaced by examples that have some practical bearing upon the use of numbers in after life. Arithmetic may be taught by a competent teacher from the poorest of text-books, as it is a question of analysis and reasoning rather than memorizing, but too much time must be given to such instruc- tion. Problems should be so arranged and defined as to enable the pupil to accomplish his work with little or no assistance.
Little has been done in the way of repairs at the Centre, as the house is in fairly good condition. It has been deemed advisable to make only such changes as would insure safety and comfort to the occupants, keeping in view in the near future the new building which has been suggested in former reports, and which exists in the minds of many citizens at
177
the present time. With the question of the pumping station settled and no considerable expenditure in present view, the outlay for a new building might be considered in the light of a desirable investment. No pressing need is felt, however, in the matter of school accommodations, if the citizens of the town are satisfied to continue the use of the hall and the dis- posal of the High School in Concord. Improvements might be made in the South schoolhouse which would add much to the health and comfort of the occupants. With the present method of heating it is found difficult on very cold days to furnish sufficient warmth for the occupants of the North room. Outside wraps are often required in the early part of the day as a protection from the cold. Such an atmosphere is hardly conducive to either health, comfort or study. Some action should surely be taken in the matter before the begin- ning of the next school year. It was thought that outside windows on the North and West sides might prove an effect- ive remedy, and such were procured and put in use, but proved to be inadequate. If an improved method of heating were to be introduced, a change should also be made in the system of ventilation. Your Committee are of the opinion that the present law governing the construction of school buildings would render it compulsory. Special attention is called to this matter, as, in the event of a new building at the Centre, it would seem advisable to continue the one at the South, as at present, for the grades that are in attendance there, since the number of pupils is sufficiently large to make the school profitable and interesting. To attempt the trans- portation of this large body to the Centre would be not only a difficult and expensive affair, but also a needless one.
Should the town think it advisable to renovate the South school building your Committee would suggest that either a special appropriation be made for the purpose, or that the amount of last year be increased by at least $500. The building is well arranged with light and comfortable rooms, and if improved in the manner suggested would well answer its purpose for many years to come.
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Nineteen pupils are attending High School in Concord and one in Waltham. . With few exceptions the reports of Sup- erintendent Eaton regarding their standing in the school are of a satisfactory character, although nine of the number were admitted in September last from the eighth grade of the Lincoln Grammar School. The promotions for the coming year will all be from the eighth grade. Two were graduated in June last, Miss Bessie Cook and Miss Nellie Riley. No class will graduate at the close of the present school year. We may differ in opinion regarding the present disposition of the High School, and, if allowed to quote the language of a well-known author and wit, we would say, " All people who amount to anything differ in opinion." Upon one ques- tion, however, we are all agreed - the best interests of the boys and girls who are striving for the good results to be rained from High School instruction. The equipment of the school is undoubtedly the most prominent feature that suggests itself to our consideration and without which no High School can conform to the present statutory require- ments if fully carried out. The second-rate school of three years' duration, with restricted courses of study, formerly in vogue in many towns, is no longer recognized as coming within the pale of the law. While we look upon good man- agement and liberal equipment as the most powerful agents employed for the good of the pupil, we must not lose sight of other influences which are brought into requisition in a highly beneficial way. Much valuable information is ac- quired by observation. The desire to excel is prompted largely by contrasting our own deficiencies with the accomp- lishments of others, examples of which are excessively in favor of large communities. The same rule may be applied to the large school. Frequent examples of brilliant scholar- ship tend to encourage a spirit of emulation and increase the desire for an equivalent recognition. A general broadening and enlarging process is imperceptibly, it may be, taking place in the conception of the pupil, but as surely as sun-
179
light and air will develop and bring to maturity plant life, so will the environments of the student, mould and shape in a large degree his course in the pursuit of knowledge. A few possess genuis that cannot be smothered by embarrass- ment or daunted by difficulty and that has no aerial bounds for its flight. The average mortal however is of a coarser mould and must needs gain his knowledge by persistent effort and hard study. He needs all the aid that can be furnished him and all the stimulus which an atmosphere of kindred spirits, bent upon the same grand mission, can lend him. There is a certain refinement, born of study, and im- perceptibly imbibed through the channels of contact and the hypnotic influence of example. Such contact and example are the natural products of congregated numbers, and in- crease or diminish in a ratio almost numerical. In the pres- ence of an army, one almost feels the military spirit. Sur- rounded by joyous companions, the sorrows and ills of life vanish for the moment. In the presence of stern reality, where matters of grave importance are the absorbing theme, an air of seriousness pervades our whole being. Thus we are creatures of impulse and widely affected by our surroundings.
If the preceding suggestions are not all mythical but are based upon the natural phenomena which govern the human mind, it would seem that the advantages gained from the superior equipment, management and environment which are accessible toour pupils, would more than compensate for any feeling of outraged pride which we might have at the closing of our own High School.
JULIUS E. EVELETH, - School Committee.
EDWARD R. FARRAR,
GEORGE F. NEWTON,
180
Report of the Superintendent.
To the School Committee :
Gentlemen :- I herewith submit my first report as Superin- tendent of the Schools of Lincoln, it being the tenth in the series of superintendents' reports.
It will scarcely be expected that I should discuss at length the condition and needs of the schools : the time during which they have been under my direction, has been too brief for me to become thoroughly familiar with their work and with the wishes of the community in regard to them. In the present report, then, I shall confine myself to a very brief statement of the condition of the schools as I have found it, leaving the questions of a definite school policy and permanent improve- ments until a longer acquaintance with the conditions affect- ing the school work of this town shall enable me to speak with greater certainty regarding the aims that should shape our future policy.
The subject of school accommodations has been discussed in previous reports, and I do not know that the past year has developed anything new in the situation. I will merely say in passing that the room in the town hall building now occupied by the centre primary school is not a satisfactory school room, and the two rooms in the centre school building, though fairly comfortable, are by no means modern and are scarcely so good as a town of this character would be ex- pected to provide for its schools. Good work can be done, however, under the present conditions, and is being done, and until the town sees fit to provide better and more attrac- tive school rooms than we now have we have no right to make our present accommodations an excuse for poor work in the schools.
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The grading and distribution of pupils is probably as good as can be arranged considering the number-of pupils and the geographical extent of the township. No room has more than three grades and no room has more pupils than can be conveniently accommodated. The number of grades to a room cannot well be reduced without making the schools un- duly expensive and to my mind the reduction is not neces- sary ; for with our present enrollment, excellent work can be done with the schools as they are now arranged. It is not necessary in order to secure the best results, that there should be only one grade in a room. Where it is feasible, there are good reasons for placing the first primary and highest gram- mar grades in rooms by themselves ; but for all other grades, I consider two grades in a room a better arrangement than one ; and I believe that our own plan of assigning three grades and twenty-five to thirty-five pupils to a teacher has many advantages over the arrangement which prevails in many of the larger cities where each teacher has a single grade and fifty or more pupils.
As far as the local condions are concerned, there is no good reason why the schools of Lincoln should not do excellent work. I believe that their present work is excellent and that we can make it better still. Instead of congratulating ourselves upon the present excellence of our work, we should ask ourselves seriously what we can do to render our school system more efficient then it now is. The town is liberal in its financial support of the schools; in its moral support, however, it cannot be called enthusiastic. Parents and citizens do not visit the schools as they ought. The registers for last year show a total of 132 visits to the schools, of these 35 were official visits by the school com- mittee. The names of 37 different parents appear upon the visitors' lists ; and the average number of visitors to each school room was about two a month during the year.
It would probably be unfair to argue from this meager list of visitors that the community is not interested in its schools ;
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but the facts do seem to justify the inference that the in- terest is not an active one.
I am aware that school visitation is often inconvenient, that it involves a good deal of effort on the part of parents ; but if they fully appreciated how helpful these visits are to the teachers, how encouraging to the pupils, how stimu- lating to the entire school system, I feel sure that most parents would willingly make the sacrifice of personal con- venience which an occasional school room visit requires.
There was a time when all that was expected of the public school was that it should teach the pupils to read, write and cipher, and keep them in reasonable subjection during school hours. The training of the child was regarded as the parent's duty. The changing conditions of life have trans- ferred this responsibility, little by little, from the home to the school until at the present time the chief function of the public school is no longer that of instruction but training. While we are still expected to teach the three R's, with fidel- ity, we are also expected to train the pupils in habits of in- dustry, promptness, courtesy, truthfulness, kindness, honesty and all the virtues that enter into the making of character and good citizenship.
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